1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the production of paste-form, water-free or substantially water-free detergents and cleaning compositions which are stable to sedimentation despite the presence of insoluble constituents.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Paste-form detergents and cleaning compositions, hereinafter referred to as detergents, have advantages insofar as they are easy to handle and, in terms of equipment, are relatively easy to produce, another advantage being that their ingredients may be selected from a relatively broad range so that their composition may largely be adapted to meet specific washing requirements. Paste-form detergents differ in this regard from liquid detergents which, unless suitable measures are taken, show unwanted sedimentation in cases where they contain insoluble constituents. In addition, where active oxygen compounds are part of the formulation, liquid detergents also generally undergo an applicationally unacceptable degradation of active oxygen. This is promoted by free water and by polyhydric alcohols (preferably with adjacent OH groups or even with residual monomer constituents in polyols). Sedimentation-stable paste-form detergents show more favorable behavior in this regard.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide a process for the simple production of paste-form detergents which would be stable to sedimentation despite the presence of insoluble constituents. A key feature of the paste-form detergents to be produced is the absence or substantial absence of water.